I’ve finally completed my 5.1 monitoring set-up, so recently I have been thinking about and experimenting with surround music mixing. I’ve done experimental pieces before using quadraphonic set-ups, or diffusing stereo tracks live over many speakers. However, taking a piece of film score, and mixing this for the cinema standard of 5.1 is a different skill. I’ve noticed while watching films, that the music is most prominent from the front left and right channels, mostly avoiding the centre channel as this is mainly used for dialogue. Sometimes it sounds like the musics reverb is sent to the rear speakers, creating an ambiance, almost placing the listener into a concert hall. Sometimes however more creative use of surround channels is implemented by panning sections of the music to give the piece more movement, perhaps mimicking the action on the screen. I suppose a balance has to be found, as too much panning could lead to distracting music, perhaps clashing with the sound design, or taking the audiences attention away from the dialogue etc. This is what I’ve tried to implement in a current project I am working on. I have been experimenting with the 5.1 music mix before the sound design has been completed so I have to anticipate where sounds will be, and hence leaving ‘space’ for them. To conclude, I’m thoroughly enjoying being able to mix in surround sound, it opens up many new creative opportunities for movement in music. It’s also, however, quite daunting and knowing what to do with the extra speakers can be a challenge. There also doesn’t seem to be any right or wrong way of doing things, especially if the music is a stand alone multichannel piece!